Nonexe2x80x94No Federal Sponsorship
None
I. Field of the Invention
The present Invention relates to pads to rest and use a computer mouse or trackball, or joystick or Easy Cat(trademark) touch pad, or any similar computer input device. The instant Invention is comprised of a flexible pad that can instantly be fitted and adhered and secured to the curves and contours of the leg or lap of the user in a position which will reduce stress, injury, and tiredness to the hands, wrists, shoulders, and arms of the user.
II. Description of the Related Art
In order to properly describe and analyze the prior art related to the present Invention, one must first understand the operational parameters of a Mouse or trackball, or a joystick, or the Easy Cat(trademark) computer input device the devices for which the prior art and the present Invention is designed to implement.
A keyboard is ideal for entering long sequences of text or instruction, but it is poor for designating selections. Thus, PC designers developed a pointing device that could easily make selections. This paved the way for graphics-based operating systems like Window. The device was named the Mouse.
A Mouse has four major parts: the plastic housing, the mouse ball, the electronic PC board, and the signal cable. The housing assembly will vary a little depending on the manufacturer and vintage of the particular mouse, but the overall scheme is always identical. The mouse ball is a hard rubber ball situated inside the mouse body just below a small PC board. When the Mouse is positioned on a desktop, with the ball in contact with the desk surface, the ball contacts two (2) actuators that register the mouse ball""s movement in the x (left-to-right) and y (up-and-down) directions. Each of the two sensors generates a series of pulses which represents movement in one of the two axes. Pulses equals to mouse movementxe2x80x94more pulses mean more movement. The pulses from both axes are amplified by the PC board and sent back to the computer along with information on the condition of each mouse button. Thus, to adjust the pointers, the Mouse requires a surface upon which it can be moved with the mouse ball in contact with that surface.
The trackball is basically an inverted mouse. Instead of using your hand to move a mouse body around on a desk surface, your hand or fingertips move the ball itself, which is mounted through the top of the device; the trackball unit remains stationary. And similarly, the joystick housing is also held stationary during use. The Easy Cat(trademark) touch pad replaces the ball of the trackball with the users finger moving over a flat surface. Movement of the finger results in corresponding movement of a pointer on a computer screen. The touch pad remains stationary during use.
The related prior art includes numerous designs for the use of a Mouse. Those designs which appear to be most pertinent here are: U.S. Pat. No. 5,738.325, which describes a flat mouse pad utilizing a light tack adhesive on its underside to hold the pad in position on a computer table or desk; U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,968, presents a laminated pad, which is deformable such that it can be bent to a shape, such as the edge of a desk, that it will retain. The lower surface of this pad is constructed of a non-skid material such as polyurethane. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,340,075 and 5,492,298 present ergonomic mouse pads. Each of these pads exhibit an inclined surface for movement of a mouse; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,211, which describes a portable mouse pad, is attached to the user""s leg by means of an elastic strap and U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,790, which presents a box-shaped Mouse pad with a concave bottom for placement on the user""s leg.
The improvements embodied in the present invention, address user comfort and health. The ergonomic pad in the present Invention is contoured to the body to allow a comfortable, relaxed position of the hand, wrist, or arm as the Mouse, trackball, or joystick or Easy Cat(trademark) is used.
The problem that the present invention is designed to overcome has become acute. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics listed 276,000 repeated trauma injuries, which includes Mouse injuries, keyboard injuries, and assembly injuries.
With increased use of the Mouse or trackball with the Internet, it is expected that such injuries will rise. Persons who suffer carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive motion injuries to the hands, wrists, and arms can""t shake hands, can""t write, can""t pickup their children, and can""t drive.
The Lap Mouse or trackball pad of the present invention consists of a thin, elliptical shaped elastic, plastic pad that has a tacky or adhesive underside which allows the pad to be adhered to the legs or lap of the user. For use with a trackball, the pad has a non-skid or tacky upper surface. With a trackball as an input device, the user simply shapes and adheres the pad to the knee or lap, places the trackball unit in contact with the non-skid upper surface and the trackball is in use. The joystick or Easy Cat(trademark) would be utilized in similar fashion.
If the input device for the computer is a Mouse, a second elastic or plastic sheet would first be adhered to the upper tacky surface of the lap pad. This sheet has an upper surface that allows frictional contact of the ball and full range of movement of the Mouse over the surface of the sheet. The Mouse would have full range of movement on the upper surface of the second sheet.
There has thus been outlined rather broadly the important features of the present Invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present Invention may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the Invention that will be described hereinafter plus other embodiments, all of which form the subject matter of the Claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the Art will appreciate that the concept, upon which this disclosure is based, may be readily utilized as a basis for designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important therefore, that the Claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present Invention.
As such it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved pad or implement for the use of a trackball, Mouse, joystick or Easy Cat(trademark), which has all of the advantages of the Prior Art pads or implements, and methods and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present Invention to provide a new and improved pad or implement which may be efficiently and easily manufactured, marketed, and installed, and the components of which are easily transported to the far corners of the World. And it is a further object that the present Invention my be simply and reliably made with minimum labor costs.
It is a still further object of the present Invention that the lap pad may be put to use quickly and easily thus saving time and effort.
An even further and important object of the present Invention is that the lap pad may be quickly and reliably positioned to reduce hand, wrist, and arm strain.
These together with other objects of the invention along with the various features of novelty which characterize the Invention, are pointed out with particularity in the Claims annexed to and forming a part of this Disclosure. For a better understanding of the Invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings, and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiment of the Invention.